Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

I loved and hated this book with the same intensity. Loved the relationship between the characters, Mimi's dream and Art obsession with maths.
I hated some parts because they were slower and I wanted to know what was going to happen.
The author delivers a compelling story, moving and entertaining at the same time.
Good storytelling and solid plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

“When Mimi stands at her door, she knows that the news is not good. Her body is familiar with the rules. ‘Miss Brotherton? Naomi?’ She points inside to invite the police officers in. Her words won’t come.”

My thanks to Pan Macmillan Mantle for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything’ by Kara Gnodde.

I was immediately drawn by this novel’s brightly coloured cover and from its opening passage, quoted above, it proved an immersive read that focused upon relationships, especially between siblings.

The plot features siblings, Arthur (Art) and Naomi (Mimi) Brotherton, who are also housemates. Their parents had died in tragic circumstances thirteen years previously and they are closely bonded. Art is a mathematical genius who believes that maths are the answer to everything. He is convinced that people are incapable of making sensible decisions about love and that algorithms are the answer.

Mimi has always felt that she is ordinary while Art is special. When Mimi decides that she needs more in her life than devoting herself to Art, he talks her into joining a dating site whose algorithms he approves of. At first it seems promising until Mimi meets Frank at an awards event that she attends with Art. Frank is romantic and spontaneous and is also a mathematician.

However, Art doesn’t consider Frank ‘algorithm approved’ and seeks to sabotage their budding romance, severely testing the siblings’ relationship. Art is convinced that something about Frank doesn’t add up … then events take a shocking turn.

Overall, I enjoyed ‘The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything’ very much. As someone who loves maths, I appreciated this aspect though no specialist knowledge is necessary to appreciate the story. It has a great deal of depth and is charming and heartwarming. I found it an impressive debut and look forward to Kara Gnodde’s future projects.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I hope that Kara Gnodde is about to become a famous and prolific writer! This is the first book I have read since Lessons in Chemistry that I feel deserves the full 5 stars. It is beautifully written, the characters become real immediately and I did not put the book down from start to finish.
As a long standing fan of The Big Bang Theory my understanding of Art was immediate as was his sister’s necessity to deal with day to day life. Mimi finds herself overshadowed by her brother’s achievements and overwhelmed by the day to day problems of running his life whilst her own is submerged to a point of almost non-existence. This makes the book sound as if it was depressing but the story is told so warmly and with characters who you immediately love and understand that it is a pleasure to read. When I finished the book I was really disappointed as I wanted it to continue for years and years, much like my favourite B.B.T.

Although the particular neuro diverse issues dealt with here are about an award winning mathematician there are many people who are dealing with siblings or parents with issues such as dementia and other mental health problems. This larger group will feel a great empathy with Mimi and possibly a sense of relief, a book that relates to their lives and problems albeit in a much less daily grind type of way!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most of all Kara for the opportunity to read a wonderful novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Naomi (Mimi) and Art, a mathematical genius, two siblings who live together and look out for one another after the death of both their parents.
I love books with quirky characters and while this took a while to really get into I enjoyed it very much and learned some very big words!!
If you are looking for a heartwarming story about love, loss, family and friendships then this one won't disappoint.

I didn't get a chance to read the ARC and instead opted to buy the hard copy. It was the telling of an awkward character who rationalises things in a unique, scientific way - don't we all! I didn't hate or love this book, I'll admit. But the end made me warm and fuzzy inside.

This book shares a story about maths and siblings. An interesting read and a logical approach to a creative process. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

I found this book slow to get going, but in the end the threads all came together and resolved in an emotional crescendo. Great characters.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I so desperately wanted to fall head of heels into this book....but it just didn't grab me, I kept trying but would just switch off. But I am a mood reader so maybe I might have to come back to it another time

I found this one to be a very slow starter - it didn’t pan out at all as I was expecting. At the start I thought that it was going to be relatively lighthearted with Art’s suggestion of finding love with his mathematical approach and I thought this was quite a cool premise, however this seems to get left behind as the story kicks in.

As the story hit the mid way point things had taken a bit of a turn towards mystery and I started to wonder if this “romance” was something a bit more dark and sinister with Art’s massive mistrust of Frank. I was starting to get more intrigued and wanted to see how the family secrets started to unravel, but if I’m totally honest the answers were underwhelming.

In the end this story was more of a consideration of sibling dynamics, communication and reliance on each other. The plot(s) had potential, but I felt that it ended up a bit muddled in what it wanted to be. The second half of the story covers some quite dark themes so I’d definitely look at content warnings for this one as well.

Overall an alright read, but not really what I was expecting from the impression given in the blurb.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

I enjoyed this, it’s very different from most the books around about neurons diverse characters, it felt very original, it does have lots of references to mathematical theories but these enhance the story abd you don’t need to be into maths to get it, I’m not and I didn’t get lost, the didn’t feel authentic unfortunately for me: I don’t think there was enough development of the relationship with Mimi and I felt confused about how invested I should be, but overall it’s a good story ad enjoyable 3.5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Art and Mimi are brother and sister, bound together after the suicide of their parents. It has always been accepted that Art was a brilliant Mathematician like their father, if a little 'different' and that Mimi would look after him. Most of the time Mimi loves her brother, but sometimes she can resent him. What Mimi really needs is a boyfriend, and she asks Art to use his Mathematical abilities to help her find one via online dating. When Mimi meets Frank, another Mathematician at a conference, Art is immediately suspicious - but is he right to be? Art felt he was correct about his parents, and bitterly regrets not acting on his suspicions, he doesn't want Mimi to be taken in and left heartbroken by Frank too.

An interesting story, with some unusual twists, and one which I really enjoyed.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/61281780

This is the story of Mimi and her challenging and brilliant brother, Art. Art is a gifted mathematician and Mimi keeps house, cooks and cleans and generally runs his life for him. Until she meets Frank at an awards ceremony and falls in love - and then things start to go wrong…..
There are dark themes in this book as well as uplifting moments and a lot of mathematical theories. I enjoyed the clash of personalities and the building relationships right through the novel. Ultimately, a good outcome and a good read.

Thank you to Anne of Random Things Tours and Mantle Books for the invitation to join the blog tour, and a digital review copy of this debut novel, The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything by Kara Gnodde.

With a son studying mathematics at University, I was intrigued by the synopsis. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to discover this excellent debut novel full of mathematical phrases with a sibling relationship at the centre.

Art and Mimi have an unusual sibling relationship, partly due to their grief of losing both parents and partly due to Art’s passion for maths. As we first meet the siblings, their lives are starting to change when Mimi changes job and starts thinking about starting a relationship.

I loved how Art tried to apply mathematics to the ‘dating game’ but Mimi met someone the ‘old fashioned way’, across a crowded social event. But was it really a chance meeting or had Frank engineered the opportunity?

I flew through the book, desperate to find out what happened to cause Art to be lying in a coma in the hospital after colliding with Frank’s car. The book moves backwards and forwards in time as we find out more about Mimi and Art’s family and friends.

This was an emotional read and is an impressive debut novel. I’m happy to recommend the book and look forward to reading more by Kara Gnodde in the future.

3.5 stars.
The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything did (not quite) meet my expectations. It wasn’t quirky enough nor exciting enough and there wasn’t enough Maths. I found the narrative disjointed and repetitive, and struggled to connect with the characters. However, it’s certainly an original story and one that I’ll remember.

I enjoyed this novel about adult siblings coming to terms with a tragedy in their earlier lives and finding ways to move on from their heavy dependence on each other. It's overly long but a relatively easy read - although the ultimate revelation really haunted me and I felt was too hastily dealt with. I didn't find the dialogue especially natural all the time but the relationships are well drawn and, though the characters can be maddening at times, I was rooting for them. Recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Having grown up with a maths genius brother this is a story that really drew me in from the beginning. Thankfully our relationship has not been as dramatic as Mimi and Art's though!

As siblings go, their relationship is very close, stifling really, and Art relies heavily on Mimi to cook for him and ensure everything is as it should be. He's always been the golden child, loved by their parents, whilst Mimi was seemingly overlooked. Having lost their parents years ago, the siblings have struggled with their grief and the tragedy in their own ways, and when Mimi starts dating it puts their close relationship under immense strain.

Following a serious accident, Mimi uncovers secrets about Art, their parents and also her new boyfriend and the story goes in many unexpected directions. This kept me gripped to the end - I felt this was very well written, emotional and quirky.

Mimi has always looked after her brother, a maths genius. Now he is a Professor and she has just begun working for her best friend in film sound. They live together in the former family home, left to them when their parents died. Mimi wants to fall in love and Art believes there is an algorithm for that but when Mimi meets Frank, another mathematician, professional paranoia ensues.
This is a very lightweight book which works well within its genre. I found it readable and fun without being profound in any way and, although the plot is more than silly at times, it whiled away an evening.

The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything is a love story encapsulating that emotion in all it's many forms. It took me a little while to adjust to the form of the narrative and I nearly gave up but I am so, so glad I didn't; this book has everything.
My thanks to Netgalley for my early copy.

The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything is a poignant novel that addresses a variety of issues faced by brother and sister Art and Mimi Brotherton. Since the death of their parents, Mimi has always taken care of Art, even to the detriment of her own wishes and dreams. But when Mimi decides to take charge of her own life…..things become a little messy between her and Art. Can things change without ruining their bond?
The plot follows Mimi as she tries to find love and do something for herself whilst still balancing her brother’s need for schedules, structure and things to stay the same. Art agrees to help Mimi as he is convinced there is a formula to follow when finding a good match. Mimi is trying to follow her heart. It touches on themes of grief, loss, neurodiversity and there is a mystery to solve too.
I adored Mimi and Art. Mimi was fiercely protective of her brother and worked hard to keep life easy for him. But, she has spent her life feeling as though she hasn’t achieved or experienced things herself. Their bond is a beautiful thing and it’s obvious how much they love each other. Mimi’s anguish and much she was torn between her brother, her guilt and wanting her own life. My heart went out to her so many times.
The Theory of (Not Quite) everything is a beautifully told story with a huge emphasis on the characters and their relationships and the parts each of them play in each other’s lives. It is told very elegantly and although not a fst paced story – once you become attached to the characters, it becomes difficult to let them go.